Ultra-Thin and Stiff Randomly-Oriented Discontinuous Composites

This paper presents experimental and numerical results for tensile strength of tow based discontinues composite (TBDC) plates manufactured using ultra-thin fibre tapes of high stiffness carbon fibres. Numerical models were used to explore the design space of these materials, in order to identify the optimal tow properties that maximise the strength of TBDCs. The experimental show good agreement with the numerical predictions and demonstrate a significant increase in the tensile strength by reducing the tow thickness and increasing the stiffness of the fibres. Strength increases of up to 100%, compared with a commercially available material system, are found, illustrating the highly promising potential of this type of material.